


Third Times A Charm

by fangirlingbooknerd



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Dorks in Love, F/M, Marriage Proposal, Slice of Life, i made a playlist for this, proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 22:54:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19094698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlingbooknerd/pseuds/fangirlingbooknerd
Summary: Shitty was secretly a sappy person. Okay, maybe he was a not-so-secretly sappy person. He was a big believer in telling people how loved and appreciated they were. He’s pretty good at it. Well, most of the time he’s pretty good at it. Every time he tries to tell Lardo how much he appreciates her, it comes out wrong. His proposal to her has to be perfect, but the last two times he tried, something went wrong.





	Third Times A Charm

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes you just have to be the Shitty/Lardo fic that you wish you saw in the world. Minor mentions of sex but nothing even remotely graphic. Playlist for the fic is in the end notes.  
> Characters obviously belong to the incredibly talented Ngozi Ukazu. Hope you like it!

Shitty was secretly a sappy person. Okay, maybe he was a not-so-secretly sappy person. He was a big believer in telling people how loved and appreciated they were. He’s pretty good at it. Well, most of the time he’s pretty good at it. Every time he tries to tell Lardo how much he appreciates her, it comes out wrong. His proposal to her has to be perfect, but the last two times he tried, something went wrong and he ended up kneeling for a much different reason.

 

He thinks back to their old Samwell days, before they were officially a couple, and how terrible he was at speaking his feelings back then. 

 

It’s not that he wasn’t complimenting her, but that he couldn’t tell her how he means it. He couldn’t form the words to tell her that _bro when I’m telling you that you’re the fucking best at beer pong I’m trying to say that you kicking ass is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen._ He couldn’t tell her that when she goes in full blown manager mode, bossing around hockey players that are like twice her size, she has never seemed more radiant. (Shitty is so glad that he eventually told her this though, because she is more than happy to keep it up even if there’s only one hockey player to boss around now.) He couldn’t tell her that he is in love with his best friend. 

 

Shitty had been so far gone on this girl for so long that he couldn’t remember a time when he wasn’t crushing on her. Her semester abroad nearly killed him. Service isn’t great in Kenya and obviously they Skyped whenever the could but even that was barely enough. He even thought about writing letters, but he knew it would be too corny. Writing love letters to his best bro? No way would she go for that. He remembers the moment she came back so clearly. Back as if nothing has changed, as if no time has passed, except now she had this chop that made Shitty feel like he was dying. He remembers how all he could do was tackle her in a hug; he had to be near her, to touch her, but obviously only in a completely consensual and platonic way. She can pretend to be too cool for extreme displays of joy, but Shitty knew that she was thrilled to be back. 

 

Lardo was- is- the coolest girl, coolest PERSON Shitty has ever met. His proposals have been less than stellar. He knew this was Lardo and that under her big, bad, laid-back energy was a secret romantic. It took him forever to realize because it only came out in rare moments, but he knew a proposal would be one of these rare moments. The first time he tried proposing, he ordered in her favorite food from the place across the street and prepared a speech to tell her over dessert (one of Bitty’s mini pies). He had the ring on top of the mini pie and everything, but when she came home from an afternoon in the studio, she had kissed him, and said she ate at the studio. She told him she was going to shower and sleep, throwing a wink over her shoulder, so he scrambled to join her, proposal forgotten. 

 

The plan was solid he knew, just bad timing. But he took it as a sign that he had to do something else. He thought back on other important moments in their relationship. He thought back on important moments before they were officially together. 

 

The first time they had ever hooked up was at the end of Shitty’s sophomore year, when they were both so high and lonely that it seemed like a great idea. (Don’t worry: Shitty had checked that it was consensual multiple times, and Lardo definitely enjoyed herself. No regrets there.) They both played it off casually, acting like it wasn’t a big deal, not wanting to make it awkward. (It was a big deal to both of them.) Shitty remembers the songs that flew through his head, slow and sensual, beginning from the second his lips touched hers, only ending when Lardo went back to her dorm the next morning. He even made a playlist right after she left, filling it with songs that he knew he’d never be able to listen to without thinking of Lardo. 

 

They didn’t talk about that night until after she came back from Kenya, in the aftermath of one of the kegsters. Shitty brought it up, hoping to talk about it, hoping to do it again, hoping to be more than casually hooking up, but Lardo kept acting casual about it, giving no indication that it really mattered to her. They did hook up that night, but it was still just a casual thing (it wasn’t). The “Lardo” playlist on Shitty’s Spotify grew larger once again. In fact, he added to it every time he heard a song that reminded him of her, even if he thought of it or heard it while they weren’t hooking up, or even in the same room. 

 

This playlist became the basis for his second proposal. Shortly after the two of them became official, Shitty told Lardo about the playlist. She caught him updating it one night while they were cuddling, when he thought he eyes were closed. He confessed and showed her the playlist, and even though all she did was punch his arm and say _bro that’s so fucking cheesy_ , he knew she meant _I love you so much right now_. He knew that she listened to the playlist all the time, but always on private mode so he could never call her out on it. Despite this attempt at secrecy, he caught her humming the songs to herself all the time. Not subtle, Lardo, not subtle. 

 

He knew her favorite song from the playlist, and made sure to set it on repeat for when Lardo came home. He was waiting on the couch, ring in his pocket (no box because she would totally be able to see the outline). However, when she stepped through the door and heard the song, she dragged him to the bedroom before he could even get a word out. And yes, he was a VERY willing participant (he was always helpless when it came to Lardo), but after it was over he kept thinking _well, there goes that plan_. 

 

_This is why they say third times a charm, right?_ Shitty thought as he started to prep his proposal for the night. He had thought about not planning this one, just letting it happen organically; he’d even started carrying it around whenever they would hang out. And while there were many good moments to propose, he wanted a great one. 

 

Tonight was their fourth anniversary, and he knew it was time. He knew even from their first anniversary that she was The One, but he wanted to give her sufficient time to know that he was her great love. Four years had to be enough time. Besides, she could always say no. Dread always filled him when he thought about that possibility, but he just had to keep telling himself that she wouldn’t, that she loved him, that she knew, that she was ready. 

 

His production was sweet and thoughtful and simple. He attempted to paint a picture that would show Lardo how he felt. His painting might not be great, but at least Lardo would appreciate the effort. He would show her the painting and then pull the ring from where it was taped to the back of the canvas. 

 

Shitty watched the clock tick, counting the minutes until she came home from the studio. His “Lardo” playlist ran through his head. The door opened, and in walked a Lardo with a hand behind her back. Shitty steeled himself, _okay this is what you worked for now let’s go crush it._ He stood, made his way to the door. When he got close, he gave her a quick kiss, but before he could launch into his speech, Lardo said “hey can you hold this painting for me for me?” 

 

Ever the polite gentleman, Shitty grabbed the painting. When he turned the canvas, and saw what was on it, he nearly dropped it in shock. In beautiful letters, Lardo had painted “marry me?” 

 

Shitty stared at the painting, unable to form words. He knew he was crying. “Shits? I mean it, it’s not a prank. I just, I really love you and I really want to just make it official. Fuck! I knew I should have prepared a speech, I just thought you’d say yes! Oh no is it because I’M the one proposing to YOU because first of all you of all people should be on board for a strong woman-“ her speech is cut short by Shitty leaning down for a kiss.

 

“Of course I’m saying yes, I just can’t believe…” he trails off, laughing. He gives her quick kiss. “I’ll be right back gimme two seconds!” He runs to get his painting and returns to a confused Lardo. “Look, I was gonna propose tonight too.” 

 

Now it’s Lardo’s turn to cry. “Tonight was actually gonna be my third attempt at a proposal because the other two didn’t seem special enough, but you beat me to the punch, you little fucker.” 

 

Lardo laughs, glad that despite all this, they could still be themselves. 

 

That night, as they celebrate in the best way they can, Shitty is surprised by the songs that float through his head. The songs are all sappy, all love songs, all songs that scream “forever.” Smiling down at Lardo, Shitty thinks he might just be okay with that. 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I broke it up into three parts? Like the first is the playlist after the first time they hook up, the second kinda spans from after that to right before they become official, and then the third is for the very end, the "forever" part. I know that some of the songs might not have been released in that timeline, but we're rolling with it. 
> 
> With Me by Sum 41  
> Wanna Be Missed by Hayley Kiyoko  
> Sex by Eden  
> Sex and Candy by Marcy Playground  
> Young God by Halsey
> 
> Bad Ideas by Tessa Violet  
> I Don’t Wanna Live Forever by Zayn ft. Taylor Swift  
> TOO GOOD by Troye Sivan  
> God In Jeans by Ryan Beatty  
> Drew Barrymore by Bryce Vine
> 
> You Make it Easy by Jason Aldean  
> When You Say Nothing At All by Allison Krauss  
> Love You Like That by Dagny  
> New Year’s Day by Taylor Swift  
> Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello


End file.
